KEYSTONEYELLOWS

KEYSTONE LAKE AND AUTUMN YELLOWS

OCTOBER 25 & 26, 2009

On the way to Punxsutawney, we cut sort of diagonally cross country on smaller roads and stopped by Keystone Lake. There are

two Keystone Lakes in western PA, one in a park just south of 22, but this is the larger one further north. We'd never been here

before and parked near the boat ramp to look around.

The water was very, very blue and made a nice contrast with the russets of late autumn.

Joey going a little way further along the path than I did.

Joey runs ahead of me now in all his nearly 10-year-old energy, but that only serves to let me take pictures of him

as my forward scout.

I was trying to capture the sunsparkles on the water near the ramp. The picture is interesting in a very

odd sort of way, with the sunlight coming down.

There was a bit of sidewalk near the ramp, but it ended in a really tilted section with rocks beyond, so I stopped

and watched while Carl and Joey made their way down to the water's edge. I had told Carl just a few minutes

before this that my self concept has obviously changed as when I was in bed with my first three casts, I walked

just fine in my dreams, but for the last few months I've limped and been aware of the cost of each dream step.

I suggested Carl show Joey how to skip rocks...so that's what's going on here. Then I wanted

to be down there with them, too, so....

...I turned my attention back to the sunsparkles near the ramp and came out with an entirely different-

looking picture of them in which the sparkles look more like they're in the air than on the water.

I sat on a large rock to watch an older couple launch their two kayaks and Joey, instead of coming down

the paved boat ramp picked his way through the weeds and jumble of rock to join me.

The woman is in the blue kayak. It looked so peaceful and nice and as I watched them talking to each other

and paddling easily along, I thought, "I bet I could do THAT!"

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The rest of the pictures I took this morning, Monday, Oct. 26th, on my way to Walmart. The sky was still that

perfect blue and I couldn't resist...not that I tried terribly hard. This is the end of the Felix Forest directly across

from my house. The yellows now are darker, more golden, and the leaves are getting crisp and make a different

sound when the wind blows.

More of the Felix Forest along my road.

At the end of my road, which is only one block long, there is a field and then a big drop-off. I parked

and walked to the edge to take this picture looking eastward.

Then going down the hill from my house to Silvis Rd. there is this hill straight ahead across Silvis.

I went a slightly longer way 'round to the store because I wanted to see this particular area in the morning light.

The hill on the left is across highway 22 at the light at Harrison City Rd.

After taking the 3 pictures above this one, I got back in my car and drove down to the light, taking this one out my

windshield as I waited for it. Laura, in her Jeep Commander, was sitting at the light across the intersection from me!

This one I took after shopping and on my way home. I stopped just before my mailbox and looked

back at the hill across Silvis.

The Felix Forest again as I drove back down our road. I paused, got out, and took the pictures

above and below.

Then, to cap off autumn of 2009, I pulled into our parking area, walked around to the back of our house

and took this shot of the yellow tree. This is my view out my dining room window, too.